Poverty continues to decline but at a slower pace since 2010

Poverty continues to decline but at a slower pace since 2010 though the country has recorded more than 6.5 percent economic growth annually during the period, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data. Between 2010 and 2016, the percentage of poor people dropped to 24.3 percent of the population, registering a decline at a yearly rate of 1.2 percent.

But the annual rate of drop in poverty was 1.7 percent from 2005 to 2010, shows the BBS’s latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). Releasing the final report of the HIES 2016 yesterday, BBS Director General Krishna Gayen said the percentage of poor people decreased further to 21.8 percent last year. The BBS carried out the survey on 46,080 households in 2016, nearly four times the samples taken in the previous 2010 survey. In its latest HIES, the BBS found that the overall calorie intake of people dropped and consumption of food fell between 2010 and 2016. At the same time, people’s expenses rose at a rate higher than that of income.

The Awami League’s powerful student front Bangladesh Chhatra League announced its 301-member full-fledged central committee, touching off controversy and a shameful outbreak of violence that really was nothing more than a poor advertisement for the future their leadership portends in Bangladesh. Something about Bengali politics, and plenty of evidence to support this has emerged from across the border over the last 6 weeks as the mammoth Indian elections proceeded.

The committee includes married people, non-students, alleged extortionists and drug dealers, and expelled BCL members, according to sources in the student organisation belonging to a disgruntled faction that even alleges those having connections with BNP, its student wing Chhatra Dal as well as the notorious Islami Chhatra Shibir - yes, why leave them out of it - made it into the new committee.

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airline went off the runway while landing in poor weather conditions at Yangon airport, resulting in injuries to all 33 passengers on board the aircraft.

Of the injured, 19, including an infant and six women, were taken to North Okkalapa Hospital in Yangon. Four of them were released later at night. None of them had life-threatening injuries.

Pilot Shamim Nazrul, who received praise for managing the landing without any casualties, was himself injured, Manjurul Karim Khan Chowdhury, Bangladesh ambassador to Myanmar.

Photos of the incident circulated by the local media and found on Facebook showed that the 74-seater Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft was on the grass but largely in one piece. The fuselage was cracked and crumpled at places and the landing gears appeared to have collapsed.

The trials of 17 cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be held at a special court inside Keraniganj Central Jail in Dhaka due to security reasons. The law ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard. The trials would take place at the special court, set up at building-2 of Keraniganj jail, said the notification. The 17 cases include Niko, Gatco and Barapukuria coalmine graft cases.

The trial in the Niko graft case was being held at a special court set up inside the old Dhaka central jail and the trials in 16 other cases were taking place at a makeshift court at Government Alia Madrasa in the capital’s Bakshibazar area. Khaleda landed in jail in February last year after she was sentenced to five years in prison in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The High Court later extended her jail term to 10 years. In the Zia Charitable Trust graft case, she was jailed for seven years.

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